Lotus Blossom
by Falkoren
Summary: AU - This is a prologue setting a little background on the story to come. I'll change this description as I add chapters. Hopefully I'll finish the next chapter soon. HanabixNaruto


**Prologue**

The young girl was placed next to her father surrounding the arena designated in the long awaited chunnin exams. This year her sister and cousin, whom she'd seen much less frequently, were participating and for the sake of appearances she and her father had come to represent the clan. She personally didn't feel much attachment to either as the head of the family personally trained her and frequently without her sister presence, let alone her cousin. Still, as she was asked to go, there she was.

Young Hanabi, the hope of the Hyuuga main family line. It seemed it was her destiny as her cousin might say considering his words to her sister then. The things he said seemed to put the small girl's life into a very clear light however. Everything she was told, ordered, even sometimes asked, regarded her in much the same light. As if it were her destiny.

But it seemed _that_ was destined to change.

"KICK HIS ASS HINATA-CHAN," screamed the person across the way dressed in an equally loud orange. At the time, his exclamations seemed pointless to Hanabi, much like this fight, but it still seemed to matter a great deal to the sister currently in the spotlight. Instantly, the girl changed. She seemed determined rather than frightened, confident rather than unsure, even to the extent of putting pressure against her opponent. Then, even the branch family cousin seemed irritated. The failure of the Hyuuga clan was one thing, but even the well known branch family member? The tense audience of fellow ninja even seemed more eager and excited to see the ensuing combat. The only one without change was her father, the head of the Hyuuga clan. When combat began he still uttered, "Study carefully daughter."

Hanabi idly wondered who that orange guy might be...

The tiny girl activated her blood gift and stared intently at the combat. A normal person might think this fight seemed well matched but the slight nuances could not be seen by any other than a Hyuuga. Surely, her cousin was to win this fight. With every strike, her sister attempted to close the distance and break his superior form, but with every strike he skillfully eliminated another of his opponent's chakra points. Still, she continued to endure the exchange of blows till even she knew her chakra was sealed. Then as if it were preordained, with one last reckless blow, the combat ended, a result much worse than what was expected. Hinata's very heart worked to support her small frame with half-no... a third the efficiency a healthy heart could manage. Neji had struck with what could have easily been a lethal blow. Even now, Hanabi felt the inevitable, if slight, pangs of concern despite her disconnect with family.

Then she felt that her cousin had been right. That destiny played this game and this was another result of the whims of fate.

~*~

Hanabi found herself losing to her boredom as she watched many of the matches in the chunnin exam. She was sent here with the head of their clan with the intent to see her cousin's inevitable victory and progression to chunnin rank, but these people seemed to be slow to arrange and the matches even slower to finish. The only one of even mild interest was the bored looking one against the fan person.

Finally, it seemed it was her cousin's destined match, and his opponent would be that loud orange person. She grimly chuckled knowing full well what the result of this match was to be.

Once again, as instructed, she activated her blood gift and watched what seemed to be a rather boring exchange. Nothing she expected any Hyuuga or, even ninja for that matter, couldn't handle. Then for whatever reason, as if showing off, her cousin rotated while emitting a mass of chakra. It deflected the many clones that the loud person formed, dispelling them.

"Kaiten" Her father remarked. She couldn't see it in his face but his voice had a mild, yet bored interest in it. His face never seemed to betray any emotion save anger.

Hanabi seemed more interested in why the Byakugan couldn't see through the genjutsu that the loud person kept casting. Even her cousin's more developed eyes couldn't seem to detect the real one amongst the mass. Then, for whatever reason, they stopped. They seemed to be talking and though she herself couldn't properly read lips her father seemed to have no problems. What's more, his expression was turning to one she'd never seen before. Surprise?

Still watching the match, Hanabi noticed her cousin enter a stance. Now her father's veil of indifference was completely overcome by surprise. "What is he doing?" she asked only to recieve no answer. She stared intently back at the battle to see what had made her father change so abruptly, but even with the Byakugan activated, her cousin disappeared instantly from sight. Not a moment later the loud person was knocked clear out of breath with two rhythmic strikes. The sounds echoed in the stadium like sticks on a snare drum. She noticed her brother was now crouched before the orange person now very much so loud at no fault of his own .

"1-2,1-2-3-4,1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8," she counted silently before the strikes became similar to counting the rumbles in a vibration. She could see the chakra circulation in the loud person halt piece by piece, second by second, instant by instant. The technique itself was art. The effect? Ruin...

"Hakke, Rokujuyonsho." the cousin said, just loud enough to hear from where she sits. She then overheard her father mumble something about someone from the branch family learning that, but it wasn't terribly important she didn't think. The Hyuuga's were now firm in their superiority over the other clans with that victory.

Her cousin turned round and began to head off the field.

"Wait!" the loud person, much to Hanabi's surprise, rose then uttered something more at her cousin that she herself couldn't hear.

Suddenly, a chill washed over her. It was a feeling that the audience as a whole seemed to share. A moment later, the previously sealed chakra flared awake, but this time... it seemed alive although under control for now. Young Hanabi couldn't wrap her head around it. Even she knew, fancy techniques aside, that her clan's style, the gentle fist, damages one's internal organs and chakra flow. By all rights, the loud person should be down if not dead.

Still... He stood very much so not dead, and especially not down. It seemed destiny was crumbling over his shoulders. A trickle of excitement ran through the audience. Even naive Hanabi couldn't help but feel something unfamiliar. Was it respect, hope, maybe excitement? She couldn't know. She did know that for the remainder of the fight she couldn't tear her eyes away. She watched as the very ground beneath him shivered and burned with the red hue that seemed to be his refreshed chakra. The battle became that of two lights bounding about in a dance for supremacy. On the one hand, her cousins cool blue light fought with the weight of his quickly shattering destiny, while on the other, the loud one's blazing red light incinerated the reality that her cousin grew to expect.

In one final clash, the two lights erupted into a final joined flash before both were drained of any possible energy. It seemed neither had won but young Hanabi knew... She watched intently to see if Neji would see the trick, but in the end, that destiny that he seemed to understand was swept away by one truly final attack from beneath.

And she did know, that loud person is the man who shattered her cousin's wall and tore down her father's fronts. For the first time in her life, her father swallowed his pride and begged her cousin of a lower birth for forgiveness. This was something she, one day, might remember to thank him for.

"Uzumaki Naruto, huh..."

Author Notes: This is more of an interest prologue. It doesn't show much about where i intend to take the story but i plan to maintain this quality or higher of writing. If you are interested in seeing more, drop a line, review, fave, what have you. I will try and pan out the second chapter in a timely fashion if i get enough of an interest.


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